The bumphead parrotfish, Bolbometopon muricatum, is also known as the giant humphead parrotfish or green humphead wrasse.
This species is the largest of the parrotfishes, reaching up to 1.3 meter (4 feet) in length and weighing up to 46 kilograms (100 pounds). They are found on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region.
The body is green and the head is blunt with a pronounced bump above the eyes and a large beak-shaped mouth with prominent teeth, which the fish uses to graze on corals and algae.
It has another set of teeth at the back of the throat, called pharyngeal teeth, for grinding coral into a paste that can be digested. Each fish can consume up to 5 tons of reef carbonates per year, producing large amounts of fine white coral sand upon defecation.
These fish are gregarious and may swim in large shoals. They sleep in the same location every night, often gathering in large numbers.
Once abundant, bumphead parrotfish are now listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Their only natural predators are sharks, but their shoaling behavior makes them an easy target for fishermen, and they are also popular with aquarists.
You can see a shoal of humphead grazing in this video.
Matthew Oldfield is a freelance photographer based in Bali, Indonesia, specializing in editorial and documentary images from both above and below the waves. He works primarily with charities, NGO’s, and other organizations working to conserve the environment, endangered species, and disappearing cultures.
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